Jerry Garcia
All Good Things: Jerry Garcia Studio Sessions

Part Four: Cats under the Stars

Two years after the release of Reflections, Jerry Garcia returned with
another delectable dish of music, and this time, he succeeded in keeping the
Jerry Garcia Band intact for the duration of the recording sessions by replacing
ailing keyboard player Nicky Hopkins with his Grateful Dead colleagues Keith and
Donna Godchaux. Although Cats under the Stars surprisingly would prove to
be a commercial disappointment, its vibrant, gospel-hued sound, its inspired
performances, and its magnificent, Robert Hunter-penned lyrics made it quite the
worthwhile endeavor — one that far and away exceeded much of the Grateful Dead’s
studio work from the era. Yet, it also wasn’t a perfect effort, especially
considering that, in hindsight, the collection now feels somewhat dated by the
synthesized mush that seeped into many of its arrangements. Still, the melodies
were indelible, Garcia’s vocals expressed the passion inherent in the devotional
material to which he was listening at the time, and his guitar accompaniments
crisply distilled his fiery improvisations into economical, studio-friendly
fare. From the genteel Palm Sunday to the mournful Down Home, from
the perky retelling of Orpheus’ tale in Rubin and Cherise to the
cautionary Gomorrah, Garcia fused gospel and folk in a manner that
allowed him to use original compositions to place his own stamp upon the Carter
Family’s glorious heritage.

Seven bonus tracks are featured on the recently remastered rendition of
Cats under the Stars, though the most notable of these are the selections
plucked from an abandoned recording session in 1976. Indeed, Dorsey Burnette’s
Magnificent Sanctuary Band was turned into an easy-going R&B shuffle; The
Mighty Clouds of Joy’s Mighty High reached for transcendence and nearly
found it within the tune’s funky refrains; the lively swing of Smokey Robinson’s
The Way You Do the Things You Do embraced a perfectly soulful space, even
if its final guitar solo tended to ramble rather than soar; and Jesse Stone’s Don’t Let Go received an epic treatment similar to its many concert
counterparts, one that poked and prodded its way along an extended, rapturous
groove. The remaining trio of songs (I’ll Be with Thee, Palm Sunday,
and Down Home) are less intriguing and largely feel like filler, but
taken in total, the extras offer a revealing examination of what Garcia’s
interests were as he guided his own ensemble around the fringes of his work with
the Grateful Dead. ½

This is the fourth installment of a six-part series, which will
examine All Good Things: Jerry Garcia Studio Sessions album
by album. The entire set is rated: